


How to Train Your Dragonblood 2: The Day of Love

by CrystalGirl259



Series: How to Train Your Dragonblood [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, DarkThinkingshipping, Egg Laying, F/F, F/M, M/M, Parody, Sequel, plasmashipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29568990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalGirl259/pseuds/CrystalGirl259
Summary: Three months after Kai and Jay defeated the beast and united their people and right before Ninjago's traditional spring holiday of The Day of Love, all the dragonbloods of Ninjago unexpectedly depart, leaving everyone distraught - except for Kai, who cannot fly by himself...
Relationships: Cliff Gordon & Jay Walker, Kai & Nya (Ninjago), Kai/Jay Walker, Neuro/Shade (Ninjago), Rocky/Adam
Series: How to Train Your Dragonblood [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172387
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Love is in the Air

It was early morning; dark, cold, and windy, and light snow was falling as it was still very early spring, flakes whipping through the air, carried by the icy breeze. This was the island city of Ninjago, boasting the balmy, fun-in-the-sun climate that will give you frostbite on your spleen. The one upside was their annual holiday. They call it the 'Day of Love'. The Day of Love was a day dedicated to the celebration of strong and pure romantic love where people proclaimed their love for each other.

It was like becoming engaged to be actually engaged and was taken very seriously.

With the war long over and dragonbloods living amongst the citizens of, this year's Day of Love promised to be one to remember. Spring had finally fallen upon Ninjago. Everybody, dragonbloods, and humans alike were snuggled up safely and warmly in their homes. All except one that is. Jay rolled over in bed and slowly opened his dark blue eyes. What was that noise? The house suddenly rattled and there was a muffled roar from somewhere above him.

Jay looked at Kai's bed and saw it was empty.

After they had defeated the monster and united the people of Ninjago and the dragonbloods, Kai moved in with Jay and his father, Cliff. About a quarter of the nest's dragonblood inhabitants had moved into Ninjago. The rest, including Nya, decided that the nest was still their home and stayed there. Some people from the island Ninjago had also moved into the dragonbloods' island nest, properly mixing the two islands together. The people of both islands constantly traveled back and forth, creating a very strong alliance.

This caused many of Ninjago's other allies to break off contact, however.

Many people of the other islands were still at war with dragonbloods. Those islands refused to trade or even associate with Ninjago until they banished all dragonbloods. Cliff had obviously refused this ridiculous order as, since the dragonbloods had moved in, Ninjago had entered a form of a golden age. Ninjago had never known anything like it. The many different dragonbloods living there used their powers to help the island to produce and reap many excellent quality crops and other trading goods.

Since the dragonbloods were living here now, no one dared to attack Ninjago, so for now they were protected from war.

Only three islands were still allied with Ninjago after news got out, though it was they were rocky relationships and were coming over for the festival. Cliff was hoping if the other leaders saw how well humans and dragonbloods lived together it could strengthen their alliances and spread the goodwill Ninjago was experiencing. That was why his father was up already to make sure everything was perfect. Jay sighed and covered his head with his blanket.

He hoped his boyfriend would get the idea and leave him to a few more hours of beautiful sleep like almost everyone else was getting.

Only Cole, Nya, and Zane knew that Jay and Kai were dating. Jay was scared of what his father would think about his son not only being gay but dating a Fire Dragonblood. He had only just got Cliff to treat him fairly and he had to lose a leg to do that! Kai wasn't happy about it being a secret, but respected Jay's wishes. They were really happy and Nya told Jay that if he hurt her brother she would slowly drown him. After a few months of dating in secret, Jay and Kai planned on proclaiming their love for each other at the festival.

In response to the boy's silence, the house shook again, rattling Jay's helmet which was perched on the bedpost and sending clouds of dust drifting from the ceiling.

Another roar came from above. Kai knew he was awake and was becoming impatient. Jay groaned, rolled over, and reluctantly pushed the covers away.

"Okay, okay, I'm comin'..." Jay slurred, sitting up and fumbling around the bed until he found his helmet. That helmet was the first one his father ever gave him and, as far as Jay could remember, it was one of the only gifts Cliff he had given him that Jay actually liked. It was times like these when Jay wished that Kai was still able to fly on his own. He would have his fun and Jay would get a few extra hours of sleep. Jay supposed he deserved it, seeing that he was the one who put the Fire Dragonblood in this predicament and all, but it was still a little annoying.

Jay didn't really mind, though.

After he actually got up, he was glad that Kai had woken him up early; that way they were the first ones in the sky before the crowds came. Jay remembered back when the war was still on, where he was the only one to fly a dragonblood. They had had so much space, so much freedom. Now that everyone else was following his lead and partnering up with dragonbloods, the skies were experiencing quite a bit of traffic. Jay stepped outside and involuntarily shivered a bit as the cold air hit him.

Yawning, he walked around the house and was greeted with a low rumbling from Kai, who was perched on top of the roof in his dragon form.

"Well good morning, Mr. Bossy," Jay called up to him with a smirk.

"Morning Jaybird," Kai replied through their link as he made a sort of chittering noise. Jay walked forward, forgetting about the large patch of ice that had formed beside the house a few days ago.

"You always have to wake me up so early to go—"

At that moment, his prosthetic leg landed on the ice patch and he felt the ground jerk out from under him. Jay yelled as he swung his arms around in the air as if that would break his fall. Just before he hit the ground, Kai appeared in front of him like magic, and Jay fell against the dragonblood's neck, his legs skidding against the icy ground. Kai lifted him off the ground and set him down in front of the ice patch, on the solid, snowy ground.

He let go of the dragon and kicked at the ground in frustration.

"Stupid leg," He muttered under his breath. Most people figured Jay didn't notice it anymore, but he still did. He noticed it every day, from the minute he woke up to the moment he fell asleep. Walking was harder, especially in winter. There was an emptiness he felt that he couldn't really explain, that nobody would ever understand unless they too lost a limb. Jay knew Kai understood. The brunette had promised him that one day he wouldn't notice it anymore. Kai hoped he was right.

 _ **"You ok Jay?"**_ Kai whined softly, looking concerned.

"Oh, thanks baby, I'm okay," He assured him, steadying himself and smiling. "Yeah, we can go flying now." He added as he stepped forward and extended a hand to scratch under Kai's neck in the spot he liked. Within minutes, the couple was airborne, flying around one of their favorite spots on Ninjago. For the past few days they had been practicing some aerial tricks, and today Jay was hoping to perfect one of them.

"Come on, let's see what you got today!" He called to Kai, and they angled downward in a steep dive through the clouds. Jay let out a whoop as they sped toward the sea and yelled as Kai sharply angled up and sped across the water about ten feet from the surface. Ahead of him, Jay saw a familiar rock formation they were using for one of their tricks, and he reached out to pat Kai's neck.

"Okay, you ready?" He asked, feeling his heart speed up with anticipation.

 _ **"Born ready Jaybird."**_ Kai mentally smirked. Jay carefully unhooked his leg from the stirrup and slowly lifted himself into an uneasy surfing position on Kai's back.

"Easy..." He murmured, grinning as the rock formation loomed closer and closer. He took a deep breath and leaped into the air, soared over the rock, and landed safely on Kai, who had flown underneath. He had a moment of panic as he felt himself slip, but he quickly hooked his prosthetic into the stirrup and he knew he had done it.

"Yes! Finally!" He cried happily as Kai flew out over the open sea. He had no idea why no others had wanted to try aerial stunts. Flying was one of the best feelings in the world...


	2. Confusion

Meanwhile, back on Ninjago, everybody had woken up and was busy happily decorating the village for the festival. Many dragonbloods in their dragon forms with humans atop them flew left and right, carrying everything from shields to heart-shaped streamers. Ed and Edna were standing in front of a house that was being decorated with balloons and streamers, directing a woman on a Metal Dragonblood.

"Yes, yes... no, no, no, that one, a wee bit higher!" Ed yelled up to her as she and the dragonblood hovered over the face of the building with a few pink and red balloons.

"Here?" The woman yelled back, waving her arm at a spot at the top of the house.

"There!" Edna confirmed, pleased with the work. Ed felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and he turned to see Cliff Gordon, who was looking quite jolly. Everyone seemed to be having a great time decorating. The three adults observed a young child dressed in a makeshift dragon costume run-up to a full-grown Lightning Dragonblood and roar at it. It was Adam, Plundar's friend, and dragonblood. He had been looking for his boyfriend, Rocky, but the child distracted.

Adam responded with his own louder roar that blew the child back a few inches.

The child merely giggled and ran away, the Lightning Dragonblood following behind. From atop a ladder, Plundar proudly looked down at the dragonblood.

"Attaboy, Adam!" He said with a laugh. Zane and his own dragonblood, Pixel, who was in her dragon form, were standing next to a pile of streamers and confetti at the base of the huge white gazebo in the center of the village. Zane picked up a length of streamers in each hand and grinned at his friend.

"Are you ready, Pixel?" He asked. Pixel growled and shook herself, raising her icy, spike-equipped tail. With a grunt, Zane heaved the streamers into the air. Pixel flicked her tail and sent several ice spikes flying. One by one, they hit the streamers in mid-air and skewered them to the gazebo. While his wife helped with more decorating, Ed and Cliff strolled through the village, chatting happily.

"FSM's beard, Ed," Cliff said, shaking his head in amusement. "Humans spending the romantic holiday with dragonbloods! What would our fathers say?"

"They'd think we'd lost our minds," Ed responded cheerfully. "Have you had a chance to talk to Jay?"

"Not yet, I was planning on talking to him at dinner."

"You had better do it soon unless you want a riot to happen when the officials arrive tomorrow." Ed grinned, but his words had a serious tone to them. Cliff let out a hearty laugh at his words and stopped in front of the large crowd of decorating people.

"Well done!" He yelled to everyone. "Well done, all of you!" The crowd turned to their chief and smiled, awaiting his next words.

"I never thought I'd live to see this day," Cliff began. The Humans with the Dragonbloods close by reached out to give them appreciative looks and smiles. "Peace on the island of Ninjago; this shall surely be the greatest holiday we have ever seen!" At his words, the entire crowd let out a cheer and a round of applause, and some flying dragonbloods sent happy blasts into the air. As Ed laughed and began to speak, suddenly there was a low rumble from the sky.

Cliff stopped smiling and looked up in confusion and concern.

One by one, all the dragonbloods looked skyward, sniffing the air curiously, their heads twitching from side to side. Tox lifted her head from Dareth's arms and hissed at the sky. The entire sky was filled with the shapes of dragonbloods in their dragon forms, all flying in a giant cloud toward who-knows-where.

"What in FSM's name...?" Cole said in confusion, looking around at all the different species in the sky. Shade, a Shadow Dragonblood suddenly transformed into his dragon form and climbed to the top of one of the bigger houses and let out a loud roar before taking off into the sky.

"Come back!" Cried Ronin, who was left dangling from the roof when Shade suddenly abandoned him. As the rest of the grounded dragonbloods laid eyes on their flying relatives, they transformed, took to the sky, and quickly flew off to join them, ignoring their human friends' cries. While half of the Humans scrambled around, trying to restrain their dragonbloods, the other half simply stood and watched, gasping to one another.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Harumi exclaimed when she couldn't find Morro. Cole quickly scanned the crowd for Rocky, and, not seeing him, whispered to himself.

"Where's Jay and Kai?"...

* * *

Kai and Jay were still flying, completely unaware of what was happening. They were just enjoying the cold morning air blowing around them and each other's company. They were constantly sending flirty messages and jokes through their link and were having a great time. It was nice being alone and free to flirt and be a normal couple without an entire island watching them. Sometimes it felt like when they first met and Jay had to keep Kai a secret.

"What do you say, baby?" Jay asked. "You wanna go again?"

 _ **"Sure,"**_ Kai replied as he gave out rumble, and Jay grinned, more than ready to repeat the stunt. He looked up and was met with the scene of a thousand dragonbloods flying at them. They had appeared out of nowhere. Jay hadn't seen them in the thick fog. The human let out a startled yell and he and Kai swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding a collision with a Smoke Dragonblood. The couple recognized many of the dragonbloods from Ninjago.

Morro, Shade, and Rocky flew past them with hardly a second glance.

"What's going on?!" Jay exclaimed in confusion and panic.

 ** _"I don't know!"_** Kai admitted, sounded just as worried as the ginger-haired teen. They had managed to fly around without hitting anything or anyone. Unfortunately, a stray Light Dragonblood who had gotten too close nicked one of the horns on Jay's helmet and sent it flying.

"Oh no! My helmet!" He gasped, his hand flying to his head as he watched the gift from his father plummet out of sight. Any other helmet would be expendable, but not this one. It held too much emotional value. Kai had heard Jay cry out, glanced down at the helmet, and with a grunt, immediately plunged downwards after it. He yelled for him to stop, but Kai didn't seem to hear him and kept diving.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, Kai!" He cried as he pulled on the saddle. The Fire Dragonblood cocked his head to the side and glanced back at his boyfriend, waiting for a command.

"Stop!" He said loudly, and Kai extended his wings and slowed to a halt. "We'll get it later, baby," Jay assured his dragonblood, who was frantically watching the helmet fall faster towards the sea. "We need to get back and find out what's going on." He added and Kai reluctantly turned around in the air and with a roar, took off toward the island. They could get it later. If they could find it again...


	3. Must be Nice

All over Ninjago, humans were wailing and some were even running after their dragonbloods who had just taken flight. They had no idea where they were going but they were scared. These dragonbloods had become friends, family and a small few had become romantically involved with the people of Ninjago. Zane, in panic, spotted his crush and dragonblood, Pixel, and extended his hands towards her. He tried to stop her, but it was too late. The Ice Dragonblood, already in dragon form, had taken off to the skies already, without even a backward glance.

Jay and Kai reached the island at that moment, and Jay leaped off the dragonblood's back the instant his feet touched land.

"Guys!" He called as Kai transformed back into his human form.

"Jay! Kai!" Cole and Zane cried, running to their friends.

"What's going on? Where are they all going?" Cole quickly demanded as his eyes scanned the dragonbloods flying overhead, trying to find Rocky, who was already long gone. They all turned to Kai for answers. Since he was a dragonblood, he should know what was happening, but he just shrugged as he watched the others fly away. He was just as confused and scared as the humans. Jay turned and gazed out at the sky, where the dragonbloods were flying off into the distance.

Behind him, the crowd of humans had caught up to them, and they were yelling out questions to him and Kai faster than they could speak.

"Why did they leave?" One man wanted to know.

"What's happening?" A woman demanded.

"What if they never come back?" Lou, Cole's father, panicked. Jay awkwardly cowered in the middle of it all, hiding slightly behind Kai's arm to shield himself from their questions.

"Calm down!" Boomed the voice of Cliff Gordon over the noise of the crowd, and the chief soon appeared, pushing several other people away from his son and the brunette, who backed away to give the father and son some space. "Give him a chance to speak!" He ordered as he stopped in front of Jay and held out his hands pleadingly. "Son, where are all the dragonbloods going?"

"Dad... I don't know." Jay replied honestly as he shook his head in confusion. Cliff let out a sad sigh, and the crowd seemed to deflate a little at the news. A small roar from behind made Jay turn around. Pixel was hovering over Kai, who was looking longingly at her and the others as they flew further and further away. Jay couldn't understand what she was saying, but it looked like Pixel was trying to get Kai to follow her. Jay knew why Kai was resisting.

He couldn't fly off if he wanted to.

Pixel eventually backed off and flew away, and Kai was still looking wistfully out at the clouds of dragonbloods flying away from Ninjago. Jay looked down at his boyfriend, wishing he understood what was going on, wishing he knew how to help him, and, though feeling extremely selfish for doing so, thanking the gods that Kai wasn't leaving him yet. The crowd watched helplessly as their friends flew away. The holiday was already off to a bad start...

* * *

After getting everyone to calm down, mostly anyway, Jay and Kai flew all the way back to the nest to see if the same thing happened there with the dragonbloods. The cold spring air was causing a thick fog to cover the surrounding ocean, making visibility low so the pair had to fly carefully to avoid crashing into the many large, jagged rock sticking out of the raging sea below. While Jay was confused about what was happening, Kai was worried that the same thing had happened to his sister.

At first, when he saw how the others had flown away like they were in a trace.

He thought back to when the beast was still in control and how when it was hungry it used its telepathic powers that were stronger than any Mind Dragonblood to control any and all dragonbloods nearby to bring it whatever food they could find, and if they failed, they became food. It was a horrible time that most dragonbloods he knew wanted to forget and they almost never talk about it. Kai feared another one of those creatures had surfaced, but that didn't seem to be the case.

When Pixel had hung back to plead with him to join them, she had been in control of her own body and mind.

Kai did feel a sudden urge to fly south-west over the last few days, but he just shrugged it off as he and Jay getting excited from the upcoming romantic holiday and it was messing with his senses. When the couple arrived at the nest they were met with the same sight. The human who lived there running around in a panic and there wasn't a dragonblood insight. There were a few boats docked on the beach to take supplies and people to Ninjago for the festival.

Not all the dragonbloods felt comfortable having people ride on their backs.

Jay and Kai landed on the grey beach and Kai transformed just as the people noticed them. They all descended on the pair like a pack of hungry hyenas, wanting to know what was going on with the dragonbloods and why Kai hadn't left with the others.

"Slow down and tell me what happened," Jay instructed over everyone.

"We were all packing up the last of the supplies to take to Ninjago when all the dragonbloods suddenly transformed and took off without warning and disappeared into the fog!" A woman cried as she pointed to the thinning fog as if it was the culprit. While Jay tried to explain that the same thing had happened in Ninjago, Kai entered the nest to see if his sister had left any clue to her whereabouts. Inside the mountain was almost completely different.

Instead of the dark, isolated prison of death and fear, it had been turned into a fortified home for humans and dragonbloods alike.

With the dragonbloods slept and lived in the small caves dug into the walls of the mountain, the humans had built small houses inside and around the outer ages of the mountain. Since he couldn't fly without Jay, Kai had to climb up the steep mountain walls until he found what he was looking for. His sister's cave. Sadly it was as empty as the others. Kai could only lie down in the nest of blankets and pillows and curl up, wondering where everyone had gone and that they would all come home soon, safe and sound...

* * *

Later that evening, after bringing the people from the nest back to Ninjago and explain the same thing had happened there, the whole village was gathered at Great Hall for an emergency meeting. Confused people milled around, talking, while they waited for Cliff to start the meeting. By the chief's side were his son and his team of advisors. They had been discussing this ever since Kai and Jay left for the island. The Fire Dragonblood was standing off at the side away from everyone, trying to ignore the looks people were giving him.

It was like when he first moved in with Jay, with almost everyone scared at him, glaring and whispering behind his back.

They probably thought he had something to do with all the other dragonbloods flying away, thinking he was dangerous. He would have moved back to the nest if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't fly alone. In the hall, everyone was asking where the dragonbloods had gone and some even moaned that the festival was now ruined.

"It is not ruined!" Cliff's voice boomed when he heard this, standing up on the stone basin that surrounded the bonfire at the center of the Great Hall. "We are fearless warriors! We have been perfectly happy celebrating without dragonbloods for generations and there's no reason we can't do it again!" He reassured his people. There were a few reluctant agreements from the crowd. At the back of the hall, Cole and Zane went to stand with Kai as if to protect him from the glares and other odd looks he was receiving.

Nobody looked very pleased about the whole situation.

"Now, we don't know where they've gone off to, but we have to have faith that they'll be back again soon; am I right?" He asked as he looked around and said, almost pleadingly. More agreements came from the crowd, but the loudest one came from Ed.

"You're right!" He yelled loudly, waving a couple of lanterns in the air. With Ed's festive appearance, the mood in the hall began to improve for the adults, but the teens were still slouching gloomily against the wall. When Edna suddenly suggested karaoke to cheer everyone up Harumi pushed herself off the wall, nudged Dareth to tell him she was leaving, and stalked out, followed by the rest of the teens. Jay noticed this and snuck away from his father to join his friends.

He saw Kai was staying in the hall and decided to leave the brunette alone for a while.

They could talk at home later.

"That was depressing," Ronin grumbled as he and the rest of the group trudged through the silent village.

"I know!" Cole replied unhappily.

"I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Pixel," Zane muttered sadly. The depressing silence was broken suddenly as Plundar began whistling in a very carefree manner. Dareth looked at him and frowned.

"What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Adam?" He asked and Plundar suddenly stopped whistling.

"Me?" He said, his eyes growing wide. "Uh... yeah!" He cleared his throat and awkwardly covered his face with his hands, letting out a sob. "I miss him so much!" He choked out in a slightly high-pitched voice. He peeked out from his arms to see that Dareth and the others were looking at him suspiciously. "Well, g'night!" He chirped, hurriedly shuffling off. For a few seconds, the teens just stood there, looking after Plundar's retreating form. Then Cole suddenly gasped and jumped in front of the group.

"I've got a great idea! Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions! You know, to bury the sadness!" He grinned eagerly, waiting for their reactions. Harumi, Zane, and the brothers sighed and slouched a few inches lower. Jay, however, thought a moment and smiled.

"Actually, Cole might be on to something." He said but Ronin frowned.

"Easy for you to say, your dragonblood can't go anywhere without you." He scoffed, gesturing to something behind him. Jay and the others turned and saw Kai had left the hall and was now perched on a cliff in the distance, looking longingly up at the sky. Kai awkwardly shuffled around at the edge of the cliff like he wanted to fly off to join the others, but didn't try to take flight. It made Jay's heartache just watching him.

"Must be nice," Harumi grumbled, turning around and stalking off, followed closely behind by the others. Jay was left alone, staring at the distant figure of his boyfriend. He wished there was something he could do about his problem. He wished he could help Kai fly on his own, and suddenly, Jay got an idea...


	4. A Distasteful Gift

The next morning, the village had settled into a deep blue funk. Kai yawned loudly as he rolled out of bed early for their morning flight, but frowned when he saw Jay wasn't in his own bed, fast asleep like he usually was. In fact, his bed looked like it hadn't been slept in at all, and Kai hadn't seen Jay or Cliff at all since the meeting at the Great Hall. The brunette simply shrugged it off, thinking Jay was helping fix things for the festival. He got dressed, fixed his spiky hair, brushed his teeth, and headed downstairs to find Cliff doing some early morning paperwork.

The leaders of the other three islands would be arriving around noon so he was trying to fix the schedule since all of the dragonbloods, with the exception of Kai, had left.

He had arranged for some of the Nature Dragonbloods to showers the officials with many colorful and beautiful petals when they arrived. Now, however, he had to think of something else. Seeing that Cliff had no time to talk at the moment, Kai stepped out into the chilly spring morning. Some of the winter snow had melted and a few newly budding flowers were starting to show. Even though they looked pretty, Kai made sure to avoid them, remembering what happened last time he got too close to a large bed of flowers.

A few people were doing some more decorating, but they were nowhere near close to the mood they had been in the previous day.

He noticed a group of children had built a sculpture of their Nature Dragonblood neighbor who was their favorite babysitter. They were leaning against it sadly. Kai couldn't help the pain in his chest and went for a quick walk in the woods to clear his mind. When he left the sad silence was suddenly broken with Cole's shrill voice ringing through the village.

"Cupcakes! Come and get your homemade cupcakes!" He yelled, walking through the village holding a large tray full of small cupcakes decorated with white frosting and tiny red, heart-shaped sprinkles. Spotting his friends, he happily dashed over and presented the drink happily. "Hey, you guys, try there tasty treats I made for the holiday." He offered. Ronin took a sniff and wrinkled his nose.

"Ugh, what's that smell? Is that you?" He demanded of his brother, pushing him over.

"They're my cupcakes!" Cole supplied cheerily, picking up one of the cupcakes. They did look delicious, but there was something about them that didn't sit right with Zane.

"I am not so sure Cole." He cautioned and Cole's eyes narrowed dangerously, but before anything bad could happen, Harumi swaggered over confidently, trying to get in Cole and his group's good graces. "Cole, it sounds delightful, I'd love a cupcake." She said smoothly and picked up one of the cupcakes and brought it to her lips, taking a bite. Cole shot a smug look at the paler teen, conveniently missing the look of panic on Harumi's face as the taste made itself known in her mouth.

Cole looked back to see her reaction just as she swallowed.

"Uh... you can really taste the... many unique ingredients." She supplied weakly, gingerly setting the deceitful cupcake back down on a nearby table and backing away. Just then, Plundar arrived. His face lit up at the sight of the treats, and he nearly knocked Zane over in his haste to reach it.

"What is that?" He asked, licking his lips at the sight of the cupcakes. Cole's face lit up at his enthusiasm.

"You wanna try some? It's my new traditional treat!" He beamed and didn't notice Harumi behind him, frantically throwing all kinds of warning signals at Plundar. Thankfully, Plundar took the hint.

"Oh, you know, um, I have suddenly, and, uh, inexplicably changed my mind." He stammered, backing away and looking a little disappointed.

"Well, you don't know what you're missing," Cole said huffily, tossing his head to swing his bangs out of his eyes. "I bet Jay and Kai will love these." He added before he turned and began to walk away in the direction of the forge. Ronin shook his head in half amusement, half disgust as he walked away. Beside him, Harumi was clutching her stomach and bending over slightly, her face showing obvious signs of nausea. It didn't take Cole long to reach the romantically-decorated forge.

Looking around and not seeing anyone, he started to worry.

"Jay? Kai?"

"Yeah, I'm over here, Cole, coming in a sec," A call came from the back of the forge. Cole came closer and saw Jay standing over something on the workbench, holding a pair of pliers in one hand.

"Here!" Cole said cheerfully, holding out a cupcake. "Happy holidays from me to you."

"Thank you." He smiled and accepted a treat and without even looking at its contents raised it to his mouth to take a bite. Before he could taste it, Cole looked at the object in front of him. "What are you up to?" He asked and Jay sighed, placing the mug on the table.

"Okay, uh, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but... I just couldn't stop thinking about what the others said last night; Kai can't come and go like the other dragonbloods, and that's... just... not... fair." He explained trying to swallow the guilt building in his stomach since it was his fault that Kai was permanently grounded. Cole set his platter of cupcakes on the table to get a better look. Jay had made another tail fin, but this time it had a series of cogs and metal parts affixed to the end.

He held it steady with one hand and cranked down a lever on it with the other.

"I was up all night and I think I've found a way to fix that." He beamed and with that happy proclamation, he picked up the cupcake and took a mouthful. Cole was so amazed he didn't seem to hear the panicked gagging noises coming from his ginger-haired friend.

"No way! Did you build him a new tail? So he's gonna be able to fly without you!" He exclaimed and Jay, his eyes wide and his cheeks bulging with the cupcake, nodded. "Wow! That's a pretty great gift, Jay!" He said softly as Jay silently put the treat down on the table and stood there awkwardly, holding the eaten cupcake in his mouth. Cole stared at the tail for a few seconds and then was hit with a disturbing thought.

"But what if he never comes back here?" He asked quietly, causing Jay to pause and lowered his head sadly, but then Cole laughed. "What am I saying? Of course, he will." He reassured and Jay nodded. The noirette picked up the tray of cupcakes and sauntered off happily. "Well, I'm gonna go spread some more holiday cheer!" He sang, running toward a group of unsuspecting women gossiping next time. Jay watched him go, then quickly opened his mouth and spit all the cupcake out onto the floor, spitting several times afterward to get rid of the taste.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned back to the new tail.

Cole's words rang in his head. It was a possibility, of course. Jay knew or at least liked to think, that he and the Fire Dragonblood were best friends and were dating. But when Kai regained the power of flight without having to rely on him for help, what would be holding him back? He was a strong, young, and good-looking Fire Dragonblood. An untouchable, dangerous, legendary dragonblood. If the other full-grown humans couldn't keep even their friends, neighbors, or even lovers from leaving, how would Jay be able to hold him back?

Jay took a deep breath and exhaled.

What was he thinking? Nothing was going to go wrong. He picked up the tail and headed back to his house to present it to Kai. When he got to the house, he was surprised to find his father and boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. He expected Kai to be waiting for him so they could go for their morning flight so Jay could present him with the new tailfin. Hopefully, it worked and Kai loved it. He searched all over the house and surrounding area, but there was no sign of the brunette.

Before Jay could think of anywhere else to look, he suddenly heard the loud horns thundering across the island.

Jay looked out towards the docks and saw the three boats from the allied islands arriving. Jay sighed and tucked the prosthetic tailfin into his closet and ran for the docks. He would have to show it to Kai later...


	5. The New Arrivals

Jay managed to get to the docks just as the three boats docked and lowered the sails. Almost everyone from Ninjago was there and Jay quickly located Kai standing beside Cliff near the front of the crowd. The ginger-haired teen quickly joined his boyfriend and the two shared a loving smile and Jay felt a faint blush spread across his freckled face. Everything else seemed to fade away as the couple concentrated lovely on each other. Everybody was so focused on the other leaders arriving they hardly noticed the brunette and Jay staring into each others' eyes as they flirt through their link.

 _ **"Hey bluebell, you come here often?"**_ Kai smirked.

 _ **"Come on Kai, I know you can do better than that.** **"**_ Jay teased, not looking at the brunette.

_**"I'm bored, let's play a game."** _

_**"What game?"** _

_**"Truth or dare?"** _

_**"Alright, I'll take the truth."** _

_**"Do you want to kiss me?"** _

_**"Dare."**_ Jay quickly changed, trying to ignore the burning blush spreading across his face as Kai held in a laugh.

_**"Kiss me."** _

_**"Never have I ever-"** _

"That's not the game!" Kai suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone next to them. Cliff glared at the brunette as he shrunk back a bit and blushed bright red with embarrassment. Jay giggled light but did feel bad so he gently brushed his fingers against Kai's hand in a sign of reassurance. Once he was sure the boys wouldn't cause any more disturbances, Cliff turned his attention back to the boats. The officials stepped onto the docks and approached him and his son.

Jay quickly straightened up in respect as he got a good look at the leaders.

The first was a man who seemed to be around Cliff's age with his daughter who appeared to be slightly younger than Jay. This was Vangelis, the ruler of the island of Shintaro, and his daughter Vania. Vangelis had incredibly pale, almost ghostly white, skin with slick black hair and pale cyan blue eyes. He wore a mostly light grey robe with cyan blue highlights and a black sash tied around his waist. He also had a long gold cape that only just touched the floor and a small purple gemstone stuck in his forehead.

Vania had white skin like her father and mainly wore a white dress with lines of light blue across the apparel.

In addition, she had long amber-colored hair which she had tied into a bun and she too wore a gold cape just like Vangelis. Vania was carrying a small white cat with blue eyes and had a gold collar that read 'Chompy'. They both bowed to Cliff and Jay, who bowed back. Vania noticed Kai and smiled excitedly at the sight of an actual Fire Dragonblood, but her father led her away before she could say hello. Kai saw Vangelis glaring at him out of the corner of his eye, but before he could say anything the leaders from Munce Island suddenly stepped forward.

Their leader was called Murt and he was with his younger sister, Murtessa.

They both looked in their mid to late twenties. Jay gulped nervously when he saw how tall and well-built both they and their people were. They could easily give Cole a run for his money in any fight. Murt had dark, sickly grey skin with long black hair tied into a high ponytail. He was shirtless despite the cold weather with only dark armor chained shorts and a large stone necklace. Murtessa had the same skin tone as her brother with black hair that was also tied back in a ponytail.

She had amber eyes with a long brown dress and pale purple lipstick.

As they bowed, Murtessa gave Jay a large, loving smile with caused an unsettling feeling to bubble in the ginger-haired teen's stomach. Kai also noticed her smile and his eyes glowed in anger but managed to keep his temper under control. When they walked away the leaders of Dyer Island approached Cliff and Jay. They were Milton Dyer with his mother, Mrs. Dyer, and his young son named Unagami. Milton had shoulder-length grey hair with green eyes behind a pair of slim black glasses and a think grey beard and he was wearing a dark blue suit.

Unagami Dyer looked to be around ten years old at the very most.

The child had long white hair combed into a tall ponytail with a bright red tie and a few freckles spread across his face. He wore a red T-shirt with a symbol that resembled Pac-Man and short gray pants. While his father and grandmother bowed, Unagami saw Kai and his eyes lightened up in wonder and awe. He was about to walk over to the dragonblood but Milton quickly grabbed him back, eyeing Kai warily, before he and his family left as well to get settled.

Kai tried to ignore the pain at their judgemental stares and Jay rubbed his back to comfort him...


	6. Dinner Disaster

Later that evening everyone was gathered in the great hall of an incredible feast to celebrate the arrival of the other three leaders and their families. While the few soldiers and sailors the leaders they had brought with them mixed and mingled with the people of Ninjago. All four leaders and their families all sat at the long table at the very front of the hall. They were talking about the upcoming festival and the recent changes on the island as they exchanged compliments.

Jay had never really been to this table before so he didn't know what to say other than smile and nod whenever anyone addressed him.

Kai was the same, only he just stared at his empty plate, too worried to make eye contact in case he did something wrong. The only reason Cliff had let him sit at this table was that he was the only dragonblood left on the island. Cliff wanted the other leaders to see how well humans and dragonbloods got along in order to continue their alliance. If any of the leaders thought the dragonbloods left because of them it could be seen as a sign of aggression.

Kai took a chance to look around the table and felt incredibly out of place.

Everyone, including Jay, was all wearing very formal and fancy outfits for the dinner, Mrs. Dyer even had real flower decorations in her hair, whereas Kai was dressed in the same casual clothes he had been wearing this morning. Since he was seated at the table at the very last minute Kai didn't have a chance to set aside some formal clothes to wear. He heard his stomach grumble lowly and hoped food arrived soon.

"You look wonderful this evening, Murtessa." Cliff smiled.

"Thank you, I'm so happy to be here." She replied, still keep her eyes on Jay with a small smile. Kai glared at her but tried to keep his mouth shut. It wasn't easy since Vania's cat was currently under the table but his feet, hissing and meowing at him. Kai must have missed part of the conversation because suddenly Mrs. Dyer stood up and approached him. Milton stiffened as he watched his mother carefully, occasionally glancing at the guards nearby, who were ready to intervene in case something happened.

"This is truly an honor, you are such a handsome young man Kai." She greeted politely as she bowed down, unintentionally revealing her hair full of flowers to the teen dragonblood. Before he could stop himself, Kai accidentally sniffed and grunted slightly as the flower's scent invaded his sense and he started to feel slightly drowsy. She pulled back slightly and looked at the brunette in confusion and slight hurt.

"The flowers in your hair." He quickly said as he fought to suppress a yawn. "I-I'm allergic." He added and her eyes widened in understanding.

"I'm so sorry."

"Oh, no! It's all right, they're beautiful." Kai smiled, hoping he hadn't offended her.

"It's so very kind of you to invite us this evening." Murt suddenly said.

"Yes, but I was surprised to receive an invitation." Vangelis smiled politely, but Kai and Jay noticed something odd about his eyes.

"Why is that?" Cliff asked.

"Well, after we heard that your war with the dragonbloods had ended, I and many others were sure that you'd be too busy to even organize a festival this year, nevermind send out the invites to other islands."

"Why would we be too busy?" Jay asked in confusion. "The Day of Love is a very adored event by Ninjago and the people would be upset if it was canceled."

"I mean no disrespect, but I just thought that with an entire island of powerful, magical people who can transform into giant flying reptiles who all human-kind has spent years at war with suddenly moving in it would cause a bit of disarray and chaos, so things like festivals would be almost impossible to organize."

 _ **"Baby, calm down."**_ Jay mentally cautioned when he started to feel the heat radiating from his fiery boyfriend.

"It was a bit of an adjustment," Cliff admitted. "But not all dragonbloods moved to Ninjago and some humans even moved to the nest's island." He explained and before anyone could say anymore one of the chefs rang a loud bell, catching every person in the hall's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served." He said as the other cooks entered and started placing the delicious and beautifully prepared meals on the tables. Musicians started playing courtly music and chairs started scraping loudly as people took their seats. The leaders and Kai were given shiny silver plates with Arnold Palmer Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs. They all started eating but when Kai noticed he had no utensils, he cleared his throat.

"Is there a problem?" Milton asked as everyone looked at Kai.

"I-I don't have a knife and folk." He muttered nervously and it was only thanks to Jay sending him reassuring mental messages that stopped him from running all the way back to the house.

"Will please provide Kai with a knife and fork," Cliff instructed one of the waiters, but the waiter looked worried.

"I'm sorry sir, but we have no clean utensils for him to use."

"It's fine." Kai quickly said, not wanting to cause a fuss.

"I trust you'll be comfortable using your hands?" Murt asked the brunette, causing his sister and Vangelis to burst out laughing.

"S-Such a warm spell of weather, isn't it?" Jay chuckled apprehensively, feeling the tension growing around the dinner table as the heat coming from Kai was growing more and more hotter with every passing second.

"It certainly is." Vania nodded, uncomfortable at her father's tone as her cat started pawing at Kai's feet, not going away no matter how must he shooed it away.

"Oh, by the way, I'm curious; how did Jay lose his leg?" Murtessa suddenly asked, causing Cliff, Jay, and Kai to freeze as they all shared a look.

"W-W-Well we're not really sure," Jay admitted. "We think that when we fell into the inferno my leg was badly burned, but we can't be sure."

"So it's possible that when you 'friend' here 'saved' you, he could have unintentionally caused the damage."

"Excuse me?!" Kai snapped, his amber eyes glowing lightly. The other leaders flinched back, looking at the brunette in fear while Cliff scowled angrily at him, but Jay looked worried for his clearly upset boyfriend.

"Kai, relax, just take a deep breath." He soothed and Kai reluctantly followed his orders, relaxing back into his seat, as Jay turned back to the adults. "Kai is my best friend and even though we are not sure what happened to my leg I know Kai well enough to know he would never hurt anybody unless in self-defense." He explained and they all returned to their meal. Everyone in the great hall was giving Kai weird looks, making him even more uncomfortable.

 _ **"You ok baby?"**_ Jay mentally asked.

 _ **"When can I go back home and lock the door?"**_ He whined, trying to make himself as small as possible in his seat.

"The dragonbloods' island nest is quite stunning." Cliff suddenly said, trying to lighten the mood. "You must see it sometime."

"Yes, but I was hoping Kai could give us more information on the island since he lives there," Vangelis suggested, only to notice the confused looks between Kai and Jay. "Does he not?

"Father..." Vania frowned, but he didn't pay his daughter any notice.

"That place was never my home," Kai replied a little coldly. "I live with Jay now, but I have a sister who still lives at the nest so we visit regularly."

"So, living in a mountain with a giant monster, how are you coping adjusting to civilized society?" Murt asked casually.

"Yes, you're right, it is very warm recently." Mrs. Dyer pointed out to Jay, feeling the air around their table growing hotter.

"I must say, I'm a little shocked Mr. Gordon." Milton suddenly commented. "I wouldn't expect you of all people to allow a dragonblood to live with you, especially with what happened to your wife." He explained and everyone froze. Cliff's wife and Jay's mother were a very touchy subject to talk about on Ninjago. Kai looked at his boyfriend and saw Jay staring at his half-eaten dinner was his bottom lip quivered.

"What happened to her?" Unagami asked, completely oblivious to the awkwardness.

"When Jay was a little baby, half their house was destroyed and Mrs. Gordon was killed for trying to protect her child." Mrs. Dyer replied and this just made Cliff and Jay even more uncomfortable.

"Really? Who would do such a terrible thing to an innocent mother?" Vania asked in horror.

"A dangerous dragonblood," Vangelis replied, making a point of glaring at Kai when he said this. At this point, Kai was close to reaching his boiling point.

"Well, there are many who prey on the innocent." The brunette shrugged in a wave of calm anger. "I'm sure your kind would agree." He added as he matched Vangelis' glare with his own.

"What do you mean by 'my kind'?" Murt frowned at the teen's tone.

"He means humans." Murtessa realized angrily.

"Where are the other dragonbloods, anyway?" Milton asked, having only seen Kai and no other dragonbloods.

"We don't know," Cliff admitted, seeing no point in trying to keep the peace if Kai kept acting out like this. "They all left yesterday and we have no idea where they flew off to."

"Then why hasn't he gone?" Vangelis asked, gesturing to Kai.

"I don't know where the others are and even if I did, I can't fly without Jay." He replied as Chompy started growling at the increasing heat and tension in the room.

"Why not?" Murtessa almost demanded.

"When Kai was in his dragon form he lost his left tail fin after I shot him down during a dragon attack on Ninjago, and was hence rendered him unable to control his flight," Jay replied, looking very guilty at the fact that he had all but crippled his boyfriend. Kai saw this but thought it would be best to keep his mouth shut. "After I freed him and realized his tailfin was missing, I decided to make a prosthetic tail for him."

"I guess karma came back to bite you then." Murt laughed and pointed at Jay's prosthetic leg.

"I was hoping for a tour of the dragonbloods' nest if that's not a problem." Mrs. Dyer asked all of a sudden before anyone could say anything.

"The borders around the island are open, but humans who aren't from Ninjago are not welcome." Kai hissed, trying to keep his temper under control. That idea went out the window, however, when Vania's cat suddenly started screeching, startling everyone. Kai shot up from his seat with his eyes shining as bright as the sun with his smoking fists clenched tightly and baring his fangs. Everyone at the table could see steam visibly coming off the dragonblood.

"Contain your animal or I will!" He bellowed as the guards unsheathed their swords in retaliation to protect their leaders. Vania quickly grabbed her now whining cat as everyone but Jay cowered away from the enraged brunette.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were making a threat." Vangelis scowled.

"Well, do you?" Kai snarled.

"Do I what?"

"Know better?" The Fire Dragonblood challenged.

 _ **"Enough,"**_ Jay told his boyfriend through their link before turning to the others. "We're here to celebrate not fight." He said and turned to his boyfriend expectedly, but Kai wouldn't back down this time. He glared at the leaders before storming out of the hall, trying to ignore the scared looks the crowd gave him. Jay immediately chased after him, despite Cliff yelling after him to stop.

"Kai, wait!" He cried as he caught up with his boyfriend.

"Just leave me alone!" Kai shouted, leaving scorched footprints in the ground as he walked away.

"Please come back and we'll talk about this!"

"I've done my best in there! A fucking nun couldn't have done any better!"

"YOU COULD HAVE TRIED HARDER!"

"WHAT?!" Kai roared. "I HAVE BEEN HUMILIATED, TALKED DOWN TO AND BEEN TREATED LIKE A RABID ANIMAL ALL NIGHT AND YET I'M IN THE WRONG?!"

"THEY WERE JUST CURIOUS AND YOU DIDN'T EXACTLY PROVE THEM WRONG, YOU COULD HAVE SET THE ENTIRE HALL ON FIRE!" Jay argued. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT COULD HAPPEN! YOUR OUTBURST COULD CAUSE A WAR!"

"OH, I AM SO SORRY THAT MY ACTIONS UPSET YOU MR. GORDON, BUT IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICE I'VE HAD MORE IMPORTANT THINGS ON MY MIND! LIKE THE FACT THAT MY SISTER AND OUR FRIENDS HAVE SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED TO WHO KNOWS WHERE AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THEY'LL EVEN COME BACK OR IF THEY'RE EVEN ALIVE!" He shouted and Jay's own anger finally faded.

"Kai-"

"I CAN'T EVEN GO AND FIND THEM OR SIMPLY GO FOR A FLIGHT TO BLOW OF SOME STEAM SINCE YOU SHOT ME DOWN OUT OF THE SKY AND NOW I CAN'T FLY WITHOUT A FUCKING HUMAN CRUTCH!" He screamed and before Jay could respond, he turned and sprinted back to the house, slamming the front door so hard, Jay was sure it almost broke off the hinges. Instead of chasing after him, Jay just stood in the empty street in shock as tears welled up in his blue eyes...


	7. Missing Piece

Later that night, after showing the other leaders and their families where they would be staying on the island, Jay and his father returned to their own house. Kai had refused to speak to him or Cliff after his outburst and just buried himself under his covers when they tried to talk to him. When he realized he wasn't going to get anything out of the brunette, Cliff dragged his son downstairs to talk to him alone.

"I've managed to calm the other leaders down after Kai's tantrum, but they are expecting a decent apology from him," Cliff explained.

"Good look with that." Jay sighed.

"I don't understand what happened, he knew how important this is so why would he jeopardize it?"

"C'mon Dad, to be fair things have been stressful for him and you and I both know the other leaders were asking very uncomfortable questions."

"They were just curious!"

"No Dad, they were being ignorant!"

"It doesn't matter now, he just has to apologies in the morning and they are willing to forgive him." Cliff sighed in frustration as he kicked off his shoes and headed up to bed. Jay suppressed a heavy yawn as he also ascended up the stairs to his and Kai's shared bedroom. Kai was now fast asleep and Jay listened to his steady breathing. The Fire Dragonblood's words kept replaying in his mind. Jay had always felt guilty about Kai's permanently damaged tail, but the couple had never talked about it.

They only had once.

The only time they had was when the two of them realized their feelings for each other and Jay decided there should be no secrets between them. When Kai found out who it was who had forever crippled him, he was understandably upset. After he calmed down, however, he reassured Jay that he knew the ginger-haired hadn't meant for this to happen. He said his boyfriend had made it up to him since then by making him that prosthetic tailfin.

But now Jay knew that a small part of Kai did resent the freckled teen, even if it was only slightly.

Jay wasn't angry, however, as he was still upset about his own fake limb, only he didn't have anyone to blame. Probably the monster, but that beast was dead. Jay lay back in his bed and allowed the sleep to invade his mind as he tried to put these depressing thoughts away...

* * *

Jay groaned as he woke up to an empty room the next morning and thumping on the roof, telling him that Kai was up and ready for their early morning flight. He yawned and stretched before getting dressed and pulled the new prosthetic tailfin out of the closet to show Kai. When he stepped outside, he saw everyone was working overtime to get things ready for the actual Day of Love festival event next week. He hadn't seen his father that morning and guessed he was talking to the other leaders.

Jay wasn't looking forward to telling Kai that he had to apologize for his outburst at dinner.

Kai was in his dragon form on top of the roof again, stomping and roaring, sending shingles dropping onto the snow below. He looked up when Jay called his name.

"Kai!" He grinned. "Come on down, baby, I got something for ya."

 _ **"What is it?"**_ Kai asked as he zoomed down and eagerly looked at the new tail, sniffing it experimentally.

"So, what do you think of that?" He smiled as he removed the saddle, harness, and old tailfin before he headed toward Kai's tail, but the fiery dragonblood started walking behind him, nosing him and rumbling curiously. "Will you just settle down! Oh come on, baby, lemme get this on ya!" Jay laughed. The brunette finally stopped walking and held still as Jay knelt down by the tail and strapped it in.

 _ **"What does it do?"**_ Kai asked as he looked back and growled curiously, wondering how this was different from the other tailfin and why Jay took off the saddle. Jay looked up from his work and smiled wistfully.

"You are going to love this." He promised as he clicked the last cog into place and patted the tail. He stood up and Kai swished it around experimentally. It took two seconds for the dragonblood to figure out he didn't like it, and he began romping in circles, shaking it, trying to get it off. "No, no, no, Kai, stop, please wait! Kai, please!" He exclaimed as he put up his hands to try and stop him. Kai landed on all fours and whipped his tail toward the ground, and at that moment, the new fin snapped out to its full size.

Kai froze, his ears perking up and his eyes widening in surprise.

Jay held still as his boyfriend waved it around to test it out.

 _ **"Jay... I don't know what to say."**_ He admitted, keeping his eyes on his tail. Jay giggled happily, glad that Kai seemed to like it. The dragonblood angled his tail fin and automatically the fake fin angled to fold the same way. Kai looked both surprised and pleased.

"See? Got it?" Jay said, amused. The Fire Dragonblood turned and looked at Jay, his pupils suddenly turning to slits. Jay gave him a big smile, waiting for a reaction, but Kai kept staring at him, breathing in and out a few times through his nose, pawing the ground with one leg. Jay sighed and extended a hand to climb onto Kai's back so they could go for their early morning flight. But instead of pouncing on him with joy or leaping into the air to do some experimental flight tricks or simply nuzzling his hand, Kai backed away.

It was like he had never seen Jay before in his life, and then turned and with a spray of snow just flew away.

Jay held up his arms to shield himself from the spray of snow the Fire Dragonblood's red wings had flung at him and looked despairingly after his boyfriend as he rose into the sky. Already the dragonblood was a mere shape in the distance, flying away as fast as his wings could carry him, a loud roar echoing over the island. Jay could barely believe what had just happened. Without even thanking him, without even nuzzling him, Kai had just taken off and vanished into the clouds.

Jay wanted to think that what Cole said wasn't still stuck in his mind, but that look Kai had given him like he was a total stranger, brought it all back.

Jay stared at the empty sky and then stared at the ground, feeling hot tears pricking at his eyes. What if he never does comes back?...


	8. Plundar's Secret

The room was dark, beside the early morning sun shining through the curtains. All was quiet. Jay lay awake in bed, unable to sleep, staring forlornly at the ceiling of his and Kai's shared bedroom. There was no impatient roaring and thumping coming from outside like normal. He hadn't been able to sleep without the sound of Kai's light breathing and occasional snoring. Even though it got on his nerves after a while, Jay would have gladly welcomed it this morning.

But this time there was no dragonblood waiting to go flying.

It had been three days since Kai flew away from Jay, and he had seen no sign of him since. He tried contacting him through their link, but never got a reply. It was like trying to call someone you'd had a row with, but that person rejected the call. With every passing day, he was beginning to sink lower and lower into his depression. When the leaders heard about Kai leaving, they were mixed between confusion, anger, and relief. Once Jay heard Vangelis and Murt talking about how happy they were now that that 'dangerous beast' was gone with the others.

Jay wanted to walk over and slap them for insulting his boyfriend like that.

Kai probably left because of the way they treated him. But he was too worried about Kai to care what they thought, so he let it go, for now. The ginger-haired boy let out a sigh and turned over in his slightly uncomfortable bed. He could almost hear the thumping on the roof as if Kai was there waiting for him. Just then, a few puffs of dust were dislodged from the ceiling. Jay sat up, his eyes wide. He could hear a thumping on the roof, and that only meant one thing.

"Kai!" Jay gasped, throwing the covers off him and scrambling out of bed. The boy dashed around to the side of the house without looking where he was putting his feet. "I knew you'd come back—whooaaaaAAAHH!" He started, but once again he had been too careless around the ice patch, but this time instead of getting a quick rescue from Kai, Jay fell heavily on his back. He lay there for a few seconds with the wind knocked out of him, too stunned to move.

There was a hammering from the roof and the jovial face of Cliff Gordon peered down at him.

His face split into a wide grin when he saw Jay.

"'Morning, son!" He greeted. Jay stared up at his dad in disappointment before slowly getting up.

"Oh, hey, Dad..."

"Glad you're up, I was looking for your helmet," Cliff said as Jay righted himself. The teen cringed. This day was getting worse and worse.

"My... my helmet?" He finally got out, grinning nervously as his father climbed down the ladder.

"Cupid needs a place to put your goodies!" Cliff grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, right, I'll... get on that," Jay said, shrugging. It was one of the Day of Love's traditions. People would leave their helmets out when they went to bed, and during the night, their admires would sneak in and leave them treats. Jay hadn't really gotten treats the past few years, but with everything that had happened the past few months, he expected a lot of tasty treats this year. Jay had completely forgotten. With Kai still gone, his missing helmet was the absolute last thing on his mind.

He turned to leave.

Cliff set foot on the ground, stared at Jay's retreating form for a second.

"Hold on." He sighed. Jay stopped walking and turned around. Cliff paused right in front of him. "Alright, what's on your mind? Out with it." He instructed and Jay sighed, not knowing whether to be grateful for the attention or annoyed that Cliff actually had to ask.

"It's been three days, Dad, I... I just thought Kai would be back by now."

"Oh, I'm sure he's with the other dragonbloods," said Cliff, sounding pretty sure of himself.

"Yeah? I wish I could be that sure." He muttered. His father sighed and for a moment he just looked like a tired old man.

"Listen, I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year, but what do we do when they can't be here for the holiday?" He asked as he put a hand on Jau's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "We celebrate them, and I imagine that's exactly what Kai would want you to do." He reassured and waited for Jay to take this in. Jay wasn't even sure anymore that Kai would want him to do anything. He'd given the dragonblood freedom, and he had gladly taken it without looking back.

Who knew if he even remembered him?

In the long run, he was just another human. A talking fishbone. But there was no sense arguing about it.

"You're right," He said sadly.

"Good!" Said Cliff cheerfully, giving him a hearty slap that nearly sent him to the ground. "Now you go get that helmet, we've had enough disappointment around here." He smiled and then he stomped back to the ladder to continue his job on the roof. Jay stopped rubbing his shoulder and sighed. His helmet was probably at the bottom of the sea right now and with Kai, not to mention all the other dragonbloods, gone, who was going to help him get it back?...

* * *

Jay supposed he should keep busy. He had no boyfriend, no dragonbloods, he couldn't look for his helmet, and there was still work to be done around Ninjago. He asked around to see if anyone had any chores for him and ended up delivering an old set of tools to the forge. FMS knew why Ed and Edna needed them. As he walked through the busy streets, he saw Murtessa was nearby, excitedly wrapping her hands together nervously.

"H-Hi, my s-sweet Jay!" She said, waving like a smitten schoolgirl. Jay's eyes widened and in the worst way possible. He had completely forgotten about her. Now, this would normally be rude, but there was really only room for Kai in his head ninety percent of the time, so it was excusable.

"H-Hey-Heya!" Jay said, unsure of what to do now. Even after Kai's outburst, she was as lovestruck as ever and Jay didn't care, but then, she hugged him. Tightly. Jay's eyes flared up at this. No one, except Kai or his friends, was allowed to hug him like that. He quickly pushed her off, but not too harshly. "L-Listen Murtessa, you seem nice but I'm not able to date anyone right now." He explained, trying to be polite.

"But... your father said you were not courting someone?" She said in clear confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I am dating someone and I'm sorry you've been misinformed." He replied but her confusion quickly turned to anger.

"Who is this person?!" She bellowed. "I demand the Munce rite of ritual combat to fight for the honor of Jay Gordon, for that person is unworthy of your affection!"

"Are you nuts?!" He cried.

"Why not? Are they afraid? Do they hide behind others, like a child?" She mocked Kai, not knowing Jay was dating him, who was not there to defend himself. Just like that, Jay ran out of patience.

"That's it, lady! First of all, the person I am dating is Kai! You know, the dragonblood!? So if you feel you can take on a Fire Dragonblood for my love then be my guest, but you'll have to wait to see if he comes back because it's been three FUCKING days and I have no idea where my boyfriend or any of the dragonbloods are or even if they're even alive!" He roared as all the stress from the past week suddenly came pouring out at a shocked Murtessa.

With that, Jay stormed off, wanting to get as far away as possible.

He did feel a little bad for snapping at her like that, but right now he was too upset to care about anything else but Kai. He made a mental note to apologize to her when he calmed down. As he rounded the corner, he accidentally bumped into someone. Backing up to apologize, Jay saw that it was Plundar, who was carrying an enormous basket of fresh fish. When Plundar saw Jay, his eyes grew wide, and took on a nervous look. Jay stared at the basket in amusement.

"Oh, Plundar, you hungry? There's enough fish to feed a dragonblood!" He joked, trying to ease his stress with some humor. Plundar nervously glanced from side to side before letting out a loud, fake-sounding laugh.

"Oh! A dragon! Heh heh, that's... eh..." He laughed loudly, and he quickly dashed off the way he had come. Jay stared after him suspiciously. He thought back to a few days ago, when Plundar had acted completely unconcerned that Adam had disappeared, and now enough fish to feed a dragonblood. There was definitely something fishy going on here. Jay watched his friend kick open the door to one of the stables and awkwardly back inside with the basket of fish.

Once Plundar was inside, Jay quickly hid behind the stable.

Plundar emerged a few seconds later. He peered around, then quickly exited and shut the door behind him, a giddy expression on his face. As he ran past Jay's hiding place, the ginger-haired teen carefully stepped out and walked over to the stable. He set the oars up against the building, checked to make sure Plundar wasn't looking and opened the doors. It was almost like being hit by a bus. Adam exploded out of the stable in his dragon form.

He was so fast that the chain securing it to a wooden beam broke and sent the dragonblood, with Jay plastered to his face, flying away from Ninjago as fast as it possibly could.

With great effort, Jay pushed himself up and got a good look at the Lightning Dragonblood.

"Adam?" He asked in shock. The dragonblood's eyes snapped onto Jay but made no move to stop or throw him off. As Adam clumsily dipped downward in the air, Jay caught a glimpse of Cole and Zane staring up at them, both open-mouthed.

"Jay? Adam?" He heard Cole yell up at him.

"Where are you going?" Zane called after them

"I have no idea!" Jay screamed back as Adam zoomed away, narrowly missing one of the guard posts stationed around Ninjago. Cole stood there shaking his head in utter confusion and Zane feared for their friend's safety as Jay and Adam sped away. Adam heard Plundar cry behind him, and he turned around to see the poor man standing at the stable, watching Jay and his dragonblood disappear into the distance...


	9. Eggs

It hardly took time at all to gather the rest of the teens in the stable that held a captive Adam. All they saw was a broken chain, half-eaten fish, and large piles of hay in one corner of the stable. They were all shocked that Adam was not only still on the island, but that it was Plundar who was keeping him there against his will. While Plundar was upset and shocked that his dragonblood was gone, Cole and Zane were angry at him for locking an innocent dragonblood.

Harumi and Dareth watched them argued back and forth like a tennis match.

Ronin rolled his eyes when he suddenly noticed something poking out of the hay, but the constant arguing drew his attention away for the moment.

"I can't believe him!" Plundar was still saying.

"You can't believe him?" Cole exclaimed furiously, thrusting his hand at the thick chain on the ground. "You kidnapped him!"

"Well, that makes it sound so mean," Plundar said to them, sounding hurt. Bored with the argument already, Ronin nudged his brother and they both walked over to the pile of hay at the very back of the stable. Kneeling down and starting to rummage through it, their eyes grew wide.

"Hey, guys...?" Dareth called, not tearing his eyes away from what was hiding under the hay.

"He flew away the second he was unleashed!" Zane retorted.

"I'm 72% sure he wanted to stay!" Plundar protested.

"Guys!" Ronin yelled irritably. Plundar glanced away from Cole and Zane and looked surprised.

"Whoa! Adam barfed up a pile of rocks!" He exclaimed, very confused now. He expected an Earth Dragonblood, but not a Lightning Dragonblood. It indeed looked like three blue, smooth rocks, decorated with tiny orange freckle-like spots, each about the size of an ostrich egg, hidden in the hay.

"You're such an idiot." Harumi scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Those aren't rocks, Adam laid eggs!"

"Hey, wait!" Cole exclaimed, holding up one of the eggs. "I bet that's why the dragonbloods left! To lay their eggs!"

"But... boy dragonbloods don't lay eggs," Plundar said, looking even more confused.

"Maybe they do; I mean, we don't know everything about dragonbloods, so perhaps they have a different biology to humans," Zane explained. Before anyone could question him on that, Cole leaped up as a light bulb had suddenly gone off over her head.

"Hey! Everyone's missing their dragonbloods, right?"

"Ohh, here it comes..." Harumi groaned. Grabbing a stray ribbon from a leftover decorating box, Cole turned his back to his friends for a few seconds.

"I've got an idea! It'll be another new tradition!" He turned around and proudly displayed the dragonblood egg, which was now wrapped in red ribbon, complete with a bow. No matter how much the other teens argued against it, Cole could not be swayed. Eventually, he managed to convince them all that it was a foolproof plan. When Adam returned he would have no trouble finding his babies, as they would be the only dragons left on Ninjago.

The people would be happy to have dragonbloods on the island again.

The leaders would get a few babies to look at if the eggs hatched before the final day of the festival that is. Nothing could go wrong. About five minutes later, the six teens snuck out of the stable, each pair holding a wrapped Lightning Dragonblood egg in their hands.

"Ooooh, this is gonna be so good...!" Dareth squealed. With that, they all set off into the town center and quietly deposited the eggs under the huge white gazebo in the center. Unlike the cupcakes, it seemed like this was actually going to work...

* * *

While the six teens had been hard at work wrapping up the three eggs and putting them in place, Jay was still being carried through the mist on Adam. It was very similar to when Kai had carried him, Zane, and Cole to the dragonblood's nest. He couldn't see a thing, and now and then giant rock formations would jump out at them from the mist. Once they narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a particularly thick-looking rock.

"Adam, where are you taking me?" Jay asked for the fifth time since they left Ninjago.

The dragonblood didn't even respond with a grunt. Another shape loomed out of the mist, but this time it was an old ship that had crashed during an expedition to find the nest. Jay yelled and yanked on Adam's ears, steering the dragonblood away in the nick of time. Jay allowed his heart rate to slow down as they flew toward the open sky. They then leveled out above the mist, where there was just a great expanse of clouds and nothing waiting to jump out and scare them.

Jay took an account of how long they had flown for.

It seemed like hours but it might have been about half an hour. He couldn't be sure if it was just a few minutes or if it really was an hour or so, however. Eventually, the clouds gave way and an island came into view. It wasn't a particularly beautiful island. It was very rocky, with a giant pool in the very center that took up about a third of the island. Jay could see a few fruit bushes, such as strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, scattered about.

If he had been hungry enough, he would have had some, but he wasn't looking for plants because he had already found something better.

Adam angled lower and skidded to a halt on the rocky ground. Jay quickly dismounted, and the dragonblood transformed into his human form and ran off. The human boy walked over to the edge of the ledge they had landed on and let out a small gasp. Dragonbloods, and not just any dragonbloods, babies. Among all the dragonbloods that had fled Ninjago and the nest, there were literally hundreds of them. Most of the adult dragonbloods were lazing around in sunbeams, some in human form, some in dragon form.

The little ones that had hatched were curled up in the small nests their parents had made, squawking and gurgling excitedly.

Even though they liked like human newborns and cried like them, they also sometimes sounded like baby lizards. He also noticed that there were a few same-sex couples with babies and even though that confused him, he decided it wasn't his place to question it. Jay was amazed.

"You guys come here to have babies," He whispered to himself.

He watched a female Wind Dragonblood walk up to her twins in her dragon form and regurgitate something while the babies scrambled to eat the slimy stuff. Just below the ledge, something caught his eye. A male Metal Dragonblood was carrying four eggs into holes filled with water. Jay carefully slid down the ledge to see, nearly bumping into a couple of mothers with their babies. They gave him an odd look but knew if he was going to do something he wouldn't be walking around in the open.

They left him alone but made sure to keep an eye on him.

Jay knelt by the water hole and watched in fascination as a baby boy floated to the surface of the water and immediately started crying loudly. His mother picked him up and shushed and soothed him gently, before carefully wrapping the baby in a cloth and placing it in the nest. Two more babies followed afterward. Two had tiny tuffs of black hair like their mother, but one had the beginning of brown hair. Even though they were soaked and crying, to Jay, they looked simply adorable.

Jay finally glanced away and noticed one last egg sitting at the edge of the water hole.

He stood up and walked toward it, calling over his shoulder to the mother.

"Hey look over here, you missed one—"

The egg suddenly began to shake violently, and without warning, it exploded in an enormous burst of flames, sending Jay sprawling backward. The baby girl was curled on the ground in a ball as her mother cautiously approached. The baby uncurled herself, stretched with a big yawn, and started crying for attention. Jay was left lying flat on his back on the ground. He sat up and stared with wide eyes at the broken shell, which was at least an inch thick.

"Man, it's a good thing those don't hatch on Ninjago!"...


	10. Return Migration

The egg-planting took less time than Cole had bargained for. He quietly placed the last Lightning Dragonblood egg in a small pile in the middle of the gazebo and tiptoed out to meet the others, not noticing that the eggs were beginning to smoke and spark. Cole really hoped this idea worked because he didn't know what he was going to do if it didn't.

"Wasn't this a great idea?" He grinned happily. Everybody, even Harumi, grinned and nodded. Dareth could barely contain his excitement.

"Uh-huh! Everyone is going to be so surprised!" He beamed. At that very moment, the white gazebo suddenly lost a roof as one of the eggs exploded and destroyed most of the large gazebo, sending chunks of flaming debris flying into the air. A piece of debris pelted toward Plundar and hit him in the head, sending the boy sprawling. The baby boy with black hair and blue eyes fell from the sky and landed in Zane's arms. It yawned widely and blinked sleepily up at the teens before crying for his parents.

Dareth, Plundar, Ronin, and Harumi all leaned forward and took in the cuteness of the baby, uncharacteristic soft smiles gracing their features.

Zane slowly rocked the baby, trying to calm him down, but it was clearly not working. Cole, however, wore a look of absolute horror.

"The eggs... explode?!" He cried loudly. There was a short silence after his words before another egg exploded, followed by the last egg, sending more debris flying into the nearby houses, setting them completely ablaze. People began to run out into the open, screaming. Cole shrieked, his hands flying to his face when he realized what he had done. It was like a chain reaction had started. One by one, the burning flames spread to various houses.

People were running to and from, not knowing what was happening, screaming and trying to help each other.

Cole was frantically running around and crying, apologizing to anyone who would listen. Babies and random debris flew through the air. The two dragonblood babies crashed into each other and promptly settled down to watch the show. Soon, however, they realized their parents were nowhere to be found and started bawling their eyes out as everything turned into chaos around them. Plundar and Dareth picked them up and met up with Zane and their brother, unsure what to do.

"Oh, God!" Ronin gasped, his eyes following a flaming piece of wood as it shot through the air and crashed into someone's house.

Zane was still holding the first baby and petting his head softly as his cries began to subside, silently watching the chaos unfold in front of them. Harumi, her arms crossed, turned to Cole with a big, satisfied grin. This was his best idea yet, in her opinion. Poor Cole just stood there in utter horror, unable to do anything to stop it. The people slowly began to stop running as they noticed the large gazebo in the center of town. The main piece of the festival was nothing but a giant flare.

It seemed like a miracle when the cloudly sky darkened and heavy rain poured down on the island, effectively putting out the fires in the burning buildings.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As the fires gradually stopped and a stunned silence fell over the village, Cliff Gordon, shadowed by the other shocked leaders and their families, stalked up to the gazebo and turned to face the crowd. His eyes were livid. All he could see was smoking debris, half-burnt homes, three naked crying infants, a group of guilty-looking teens, and no Jay insight.

"What in FSM's name is going on?" He angrily. Cole blinked wide-eyed at the angry chief and was still trying to get his head around the eggs exploding. Behind him, the burnt beams of a lamp post finally crashed to the ground before silence descended again. The only sound now was the heavy rain and crying triplets. Cole offered a weak smile, feeling sick to his stomach. What had he done?...

* * *

"Kai! Kai?" Jay was calling as he roamed around the dragonblood's nesting island. Cliff had been sure Kai would be here, but Jay couldn't see a familiar flash of red anywhere. To be honest, Jay was somewhat grateful for that. When he discovered this is where the dragonbloods had their babies, he was scared he would find Kai giving affection to a random dragonblood over a nest of eggs. Not even thinking about his human boyfriend. Kai had always been a flirt, even when he was dating Jay, yet he never went more than harmless fun.

Or so he kept saying to a worried Jay.

But thankfully, it seemed Kai wasn't here. Heck, he didn't even see another Fire Dragon. Was Kai really the only one? Did that mean that he wasn't here? But if he wasn't here for the same reason as the other dragonbloods, where was he? Maybe he really was just flying away. Jay tried not to think about that as he continued to search the island.

"Oh, Kai, where are you?" He whispered, beginning to lose hope of seeing him again. As he came to the top of another ledge, he found himself looking down at a male Shadow Dragonblood snuggled with a male Mind Dragonblood. The Shadow Dragonblood glanced up at him and then suddenly lifted his head in recognition. The female Water Dragonblood beside them also looked up and almost seemed to smile at Jay. Jay felt a smile jump onto his face.

Here were some very familiar faces.

"Shade!" He cried happily, leaping off the ledge and running forward. Ronin's dragonblood friend smirked when he saw the human and gave him a bro hug.

"What's up kid!" He laughed as they separated and turned to the Mind Dragonblood watching them. "This is Neuro, my mate." He introduced and Jay turned to the other. Neuro looked to be around Cliff's age with white and black hair. He also had a goatee and black eyebrows that looked similar to Kai's. Neuro wore a gray and tan robe-like attire with a leather collar and belt.

"Hi, I'm-"

"You're Jay Gordon, son of Cliff Gordon, heir to the throne of Ninjago, and currently the first known human to befriend a dragonblood and is also dating that dragonblood." Neuro interrupted the ginger-haired teen, who just stood there in shock, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. He was trying to understand how he knew all that but quickly realized that Neuro was a Mind Dragonblood. He must have read Jay's mind. "Actually, most dragonbloods here talk about you and Ninjago a lot, but I did read your mind that time." He admitted with a small, sly grin on his face.

Jay was about to make a remark about privacy when he noticed a single, dark grey egg sat in a small nest behind the couple.

"Is that...?" He trailed off. Shade followed his gaze and smiled lovingly at the egg.

"Yep, that's mine and Neuro's little boy."

"It could be a girl." Neuro smiled and he wrapped his arms around his mate's waist.

"Do I get a hello?" A woman suddenly asked and they all turned to see Nya standing nearby, grinning when she saw Jay.

"Nya!" Jay exclaimed, running up to the Water Dragonblood and leaving Shade and Neuro to see Kai's beloved sister. "Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you guys!" He beamed as he hugged her tightly, which she returned. "Is Kai here?" He asked, but Nya pulled away, looking confused.

"He couldn't come, he can't fly on his own remember?"

"I made him a new tailfin so he could fly alone," Jay replied. "He flew off three days ago and I thought he'd be here."

"Sorry, but I haven't seen him." She said, looking around in concern. Jay panicked a little, thinking that the new tail might have failed and Kai could be stranded somewhere, all alone and scared, with nobody there to save him.

 _ **"Relax Jaybird, I promise I'm fine, this tail you made me works like a charm."**_ Kai's voice suddenly echoed through their link, making Jay jump slightly. Nya eyed him in confusion, but Jay ignored her.

 _ **"Kai? Kai?! Please tell me where you are!"**_ He mentally begged, feeling close to tears, but once again he got no response. With a sigh, thankful that Kai was apparently alright, he turned back to Nya. "So, where's your mate?" He asked and she blushed.

"I... I don't have one."

"But I thought you guys come here to have babies?" He asked as he looked around at all the happy couples welcoming their hatchlings into the world.

"Most who come here are already with someone and are already gravid so they can lay their babies in peace with their mates, those who don't, come here to meet other single dragonbloods and hopefully their future mates and wait until next time, but some are just unlucky." She shrugged, trying not to seem too bothered, but Jay knew she was sad.

"So is this an annual thing?"

"Nah, I think happens every five years or so, at least, that's what some people are saying when I asked." She replied. "I didn't even know what was happening, we all just got this uncontrollable urge to fly to this island."

"So you guys can reproduce with the same gender?" He asked as he glanced back to Shade and Neuro, who were nurturing their egg.

"Yes we can; in our culture, both a male and a female can become pregnant." Nya nodded. Jay did a good impression of a fish when Nya told him that male dragonbloods could also have children.

"I know that this is quite a shock but imagine our surprise when we found out that only the female human can reproduce and it must be with only a male." She explained. "In our culture, two males and two females can reproduce and create a new life."

"Sorry but this all a little hard to understand." He said.

"I can understand." She replied with a small chuckled, almost able to hear the cogs turning in Jay's head. A male Nature Dragonblood suddenly approached them with his newly hatched daughter in his arms, her eyes closed as she curled in the blanket wrapped tightly around her. He and Nya shared a look and she nodded with a smile. The Nature Dragonblood walked over to Jay and offered him a chance to hold his daughter. Jay looked down and grinned as he carefully took the baby from her father.

Her face scrunched up at the disturbance in her nap, but quickly settled down again and fell back asleep.

"Aw, look at you guys, all happy together!" He cooed softly as he scratched the baby under the chin. "Who knew you were all leaving to celebrate your own sort of holiday?" He mused thoughtfully. He thought about back home. He wondered what everyone was doing back there without him. The last day of the Day of Love festival was the next day, and there would be a party tomorrow night long into the night. Then the other leaders would leave for their own homes.

The sun was setting, and Jay knew he should be getting back home.

"I guess I should get back to my holiday," He grinned, standing up and looking at Nya, who cocked her head to the side. "So, what do ya say there, Nya? Think you could give me a ride back home?" He asked. Nya smiled and transformed so she could take Jay home. Jay gave the baby back to her father and scratched the Water Dragonblood behind her horns, and she closed her eyes and purred in pleasure. Straightening up, the dragonblood bent down, allowed Jay to climb onto her back, and jumped into the air.

Jay waved at the rest of the dragonbloods down below.

"I'll see you all back at Ninjago when you're good and ready!" He called. Another Water Dragonblood, however, took this as a sign to follow him and Nya, and they leaped into the air with a cry. Several other dragonbloods saw their movements and copied them, and soon Jay had nearly the entire island of dragons getting ready to come back home. The only ones who didn't move were the ones whose eggs hadn't hatched yet.

"Oh, no!" He yelped, shaking a hand at the dragonbloods to try and dissuade them from following him. "No, no, no! I think I just started the return migration," He said to himself, slumping against one of Nya's spikes. On the ground, all the babies were squawking excitedly and wiggling their little arms and legs as their parents picked them up, getting ready to take off. Then, in one wave, they began running to the edge of the island, ready to take flight.

"Well, if you insist..." Jay said, giving up. He watched, feeling a bit nervous, as the first group of dragonbloods reached the edge of the island. One by one, three adults transformed and leaped off into the air, their paws desperately trying to keep hold of their new babies. "Come on..." Jay muttered under his breath, willing the babies to stay safe. Slowly but surely, the dragonbloods began to gain height. Chattering in excitement, they began to fly faster.

Unfortunately, it was windy around the island, and a few of the babies started to whine and shuffle at the cold breeze.

When one almost fell out of their parent's paw, the dragonbloods all flew back onto the island. They transformed back into their human forms and quickly checked over their children.

"Oh boy, this is never going to work." Jay frowned. The other babies shuffled as their parents uncertainly on the ledge, crying up at their parents. The adults looked down at the ocean and then up in the air, not sure what to do next. Jay knit his brow and thought for a second before remembering something. "Oh! Hold on, I've got just the thing." He called to the dragonbloods below. He patted Nya's neck and she took off toward the mist, to where an old abandoned ship was waiting...


	11. The Return

Ninjago was a mess. Shards and splinters of wood, metal, and decorations were everywhere. The three dragonblood babies had been fed, dressed, and had fallen asleep around some of the food supplies and were twitching in their sleep, occasionally rolling over and on or two would let out a squeaky yawn. They were currently being watched over by Vania, Mrs. Dyer, and Edna. The rest of the humans in the village were patching things up the best they could.

But it was obvious that it wasn't the sort of thing that could be finished in just one night.

There wasn't a single house that wasn't ruined in some way. Cliff and Ed, instead of helping to repair the houses, were walking through them and inspecting the damage. Today hadn't been a very good day for Cliff. Jay was gone for most of the day, the dragonbloods hadn't come back, and the village had been all but destroyed. To top it all off, the other leaders were on his back the entire day. Milton was chastizing Cliff for encouraging him to bring his family to such a dangerous and chaotic island.

Murt was livid when he heard how Jay had spoken to his sister and demanded Cliff punish the boy when he was found.

Vangelis was the worse, however. He had made sure everyone heard him when he loudly complained of the lack of control Cliff had on his people and how he had allowed dangerous monsters to live among them. He made a point to examine the babies his daughter was helping to care for. He'd even had the nerve to suggest that Cliff gave HIM the dragonblood triplets as compensation since their parents had seemingly abandoned them. They could prove to be great assets to Shintaro.

Cliff had quickly refused the offer.

They were not his children, so he couldn't give them away. Murt, Murtessa, Milton, Mrs. Dyer, and even Vangelis' own daughter had shouted at him for even trying such a thing. The leader of Shintaro walked away to his guest house and hadn't been seen for the rest of the day. The biggest worry in Cliff's mind, however, was his son's disappearance and sexuality. When the Munce leaders confronted him about Jay's rejection of Murtessa, she told him that his son had said he was dating Kai.

The Fire Dragonblood that was living with them.

Now Cliff didn't have a problem with gay people. As long as they weren't hurting anyone, they could do what they wanted in the privacy of their own homes. He was just shocked that not only was his son gay, but also apparently didn't trust him enough to tell him. Cliff didn't hate Kai, anymore, but he wasn't afraid to admit that it was awkward for him to be alone with the Fire Dragonblood. They had nothing in common. Plus, Kai was a little too hotheaded and cocky for Cliff's liking.

Even though he didn't really understand what Jay saw in the brunette, however, he had learned his lesson the first time and decided to trust his son's judgment.

He made a promise that he would have to give Kai a serious talk if he or the other dragonbloods ever returned.

"Ed, this is a disaster," The chief groaned, gingerly stepping through a blackened wooden doorway, followed closely by said friend.

"It's not so bad," Ed said, shrugging and trying to look on the bright side even though the entire house was completely black from the fires the exploding eggs had caused. Cliff looked shocked.

"Not that bad?" He growled and gestured around them. Right now, the bright side was more of a just-barely-enough-light side. He angrily stomped out of the house and into the open. "The village is destroyed, the dragonbloods have gone and left us, the other leaders are no doubt going to cut ties with us... let's face it; this holiday is a complete— what are these people looking at?" He grumbled in frustration, noticing for the first time that everybody had stopped cleaning up and was staring fixedly at something up in the sky.

Cliff followed their gaze and narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What is that?" Ed asked his friend. It looked like a big, dark cloud was moving toward them. As it came nearer, the shapes became more defined, and the cloud began to break up into over a hundred silhouettes of flying dragonbloods. Something else was hanging below them, suspended by ropes that were held in the dragonbloods' mouths and talons. It had a sort of dragonesque shape to it, but as the dragonbloods carried it nearer, it became clear that it was an old ship.

It was probably one of them that had never come back from a quest.

Then Cliff got a good look at the Water Dragonblood at the front of the crowd and his face lit up when he saw what was on her back.

"It's Jay!"

"And our dragonbloods!" Zane gasped, lowering the hammer he had been using in amazement. Everybody began to cheer and wave their hands to try and attract their dragonbloods. The task of cleaning up was instantly forgotten. The dragonbloods flew closer and closer to the island, dropping lower and lower until their burden touched the ground. The ship crashed about a foot into the ice and skidded to a halt right in front of the crowd of humans.

The dragonbloods all released their ropes, and the ship tipped to the side and with one large crash, finally lay still.

The humans watched the ship with anticipation. Slowly, a Wind Dragonblood holding baby emerged, followed by a Smoke Dragonblood, holding two babies. The humans began to gasp and squeal with excitement as the rest of the new parents began to dismount from their rides, their babies tucked safely in their arms. Nya dipped his neck down to the ice and Jay smoothly jumped off, taking a few steps forward and grinning at the faces of the people of Ninjago and their visitors.

Cries of greetings and praises were mingled with the happy shouts of the humans who were greeting their dragonbloods.

"Yeah!" Dareth cheered, running up to Tox and scratching the dragonblood behind her horns. Tox's eyes lazily drooped half-closed with pleasure. Up above in the air, Rocky and Adam were skimming over the island, their eyes frantically searching for their own babies who had been left behind. Finally spotting them by the food barrels with Edna and Mrs. Dyer, the couple landed, gazed at them all adoringly, and Adam promptly regurgitated a pile of fish for them to eat.

Edna and Mrs. Dyer giggled as the babies gurgled and they carefully handed them to their parents.

Rocky and Adam smiled lovingly at their children as they picked up some fish from the pile and started feeding their little ones. As the babies happily scampered towards the food, Plundar came flying out of nowhere and tackled his dragonblood to the ground with a happy cry. Even though Adam was still angry at his human friend for locking him up, he understood the human was just afraid to be alone so he forgave him. Rocky had spotted Cole, and the human ran over to meet him.

"Rocky! You're back!" Cole wailed happily, throwing his arms around the Earth Dragonblood. He looked at the babies and his eyes lit up. "And there are babies!" He squealed, bending down to get a good look at them. Jay turned away from watching Plundar and Cole reunite with their dragonbloods and was immediately caught up in a breath-quenching hug from his father.

"Well done, son!"

"Thanks, Dad," Gasped Jay, clutching his stomach and taking deep breaths. In a considerably better mood, Cliff spread his arms and whistled loudly to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone, grab your loved ones, and let's move to the Great Hall! We finally have something to celebrate!" He yelled and everyone cheered in agreement. It was finally time for the Day of Love to begin...


	12. Romantic Reunion

Jay strolled through the Great Hall amongst dragonbloods, happy humans, and tables laden with food. He had a big smile on his face, but inside he was less than happy. He passed a table with Plundar, who had one of Adam and Rocky's babies in his arms and had reverted to baby talk. Beside him, Harumi was cooing at one of the new dragonblood babies as well, occasionally jerking her hand back as the infant let out a burp, expecting a blast of an element, but that never happened.

Beside the table, a couple was scratching a baby Nature Dragonblood under the chin.

Two human children were holding mugs of cocoa, a baby Lightning Dragonblood between them trying to steal a sip. Even Unagami and Vania were playing with some of the new babies, really enjoying themselves. Jay noticed the other leaders, minus Murtessa and Vangelis were enjoying themselves. Everybody's dragonbloods had come back. But Kai was still gone. He hadn't been at the nesting grounds with the other dragonbloods. That only left one other option.

He had taken his freedom and was now gone forever.

A little voice in the back of Jay's head said that he didn't know that for sure. He should enjoy the celebrations. Kai will come back in his own time. But then another voice would pipe up. Forget it. Kai was gone, long gone, and Jay was never going to see him again. Jay felt his eyes grow hot but he managed to keep a few stray tears away. Thankfully, at that moment a distraction arrived in the form of Zane and Nya.

"Jay, I know this must be really hard for you, seeing everyone with their dragonbloods." Zane started out nervously. Nya took his hand and smiled. "But you really did a wonderful thing, thank you." She added before pulling him into a tight hug, which Zane quickly. Jay's arms instinctively went around them, and he laid his chin on Nya's shoulder. For a few seconds, they just stood like that quietly. Then Jay sighed.

"Where did Kai go?" He said quietly. Nya gently shook her head.

"I don't know." She sadly said as she looked up, her eyes landing on the door of the Great Hall, and suddenly she knew the answer. The door to the Great Hall had opened, and Kai was tentatively sticking his head inside. He was in his dragon form and it was a tight fit for him to fit into the giant room. He stepped in and glanced around the room before spotting his sister and Zane with Jay and perking up. He quickly started walking towards them, attracting the attention of quite a few people along the way.

Zane saw him and smiled.

Nya's mouth fell open and suddenly had an idea. Grinning deviously, she pulled out of the hug and braced her hands on Jay's shoulders.

"Wow, man! Wouldn't wanna be you right now; I mean, you brought back everyone's dragonblood except yours." She grinned. Zane didn't understand for a second before his eyes widened and gave a small laugh. Jay's face went from confused to annoyed.

"Yeah, you know, this is not helping at all," He replied crossly. Nya grinned and abruptly shoved Jay backward, spinning him 180 degrees around so he came face to face with Kai running to meet him. Jay's eyes widened and his face split into the biggest smile he had ever donned in his entire life.

"KAI! Hey, baby!" He exclaimed, feeling happier than he had in his life. Kai grinned, as well as he could in dragon form, and eagerly dashed up to the boy, coming to a halt about three feet away from where he stood, looking like he wanted to leap on him and smother him in a hug. He also looked nervous, like he was afraid of what Jay would say to him after he had been gone without a reason for the past three days.

 _ **"I'm sorry,"**_ Kai said through their link. Jay smiled at his best friend and quickly threw his arms around the dragonblood's neck, hugging him tightly. Kai looked surprised for a second but didn't pull away. The people around them, for once, didn't start clapping and cheering. Instead, they just watched and smiled as Jay opened his eyes and quickly drew away.

"Bad Kai! Very bad Kai!" He scolded, pointing at his boyfriend and waving his finger around in the air. Kai followed the finger with his eyes in amusement. "You scared me to death! Don't ever stay away from that long again and... what is in your mouth?" He suddenly asked. He hadn't noticed it at first. But after the initial shock, it became very obvious that the dragonblood was holding something big and bulky between his jaws. Jay squinted and tried to peer up into the dragonblood's mouth.

As he did, however, Kai immediately opened his mouth and put whatever was right on Jay's head, quite a lot of spit following after.

Kai pushed the thing firmly down on Jay's head with his tongue and stood back, proudly surveying the boy, before transforming into his human form. He was in need of a bath and his clothes were dirty and slightly torn, but other than that he was alright. Jay, his hair completely soaked, gingerly brushed spit off his face.

"Yeah, yeah, you found my helmet." He muttered and went to wipe his eyes and suddenly froze. "Hey! You found my helmet! That's where you've been?" He asked in shock. All this time he had thought Kai had left for good, and the whole time he had just been trying to retrieve Jay's helmet, which must have sunk to the bottom of the ocean by the time he found it. Kai's hands in his own and looked him in the eye.

"Baby, thank you, you... are amazing." He said sincerely and then came the inevitable cheering and clapping from the crowd. Jay hugged Kai again and the dragonblood looked both surprised and pleased. Nya went up to greet her brother and grinned at the happy couple. Finally, Jay had something to celebrate. His boyfriend had come back home to him. Could things get any better than this?...


	13. The Greatest Gift

The next morning, the other leaders were getting ready to leave to return to their own islands. Last night, some of the dragonbloods flew back to the nesting grounds to collecting the other couples since the rest of the eggs must have hatched by now. Turns out Neuro was right, he and Shade had a sweet baby girl. When Ronin saw his dragonblood's baby, he was smitten with her. Nya and other the dragonbloods and humans had returned to their island at first light.

After a heartfelt goodbye and a promise to visit each other more often, Kai watched as she left with the others.

The Dyer family said their goodbyes and Unagami made his father promise they would return next year. He loved all the dragonbloods, especially the babies. They were super cute. After they had left, Vangelis and Vania also said goodbye. While Vania smiled and wished them all well, her father glared at Jay and Kai the entire time before they finally left. Last, but certainly least, Murt and Murtessa had to say goodbye. While Murt talked with Cliff, his sister stared longingly at Jay, but the ginger-haired teen made a point of wrapping an arm around Kai's waist.

She then glared at Kai but was not prepared for the ferocity he glared back at her.

She could actually see smoke blowing out his nose with every breath. He had heard that she tried flirting with his boyfriend, and it took Jay a lot of kissing and cuddles to calm the brunette down. Jay remembered that she said she wanted to fight Kai, but luckily it seemed she had come to her senses and would not be burnt to a crisp.

 _ **"So... you can get pregnant?"**_ Jay suddenly asked through their link as he and everyone else waved goodbye to the ships.

 _ **"Don't even think about it,"**_ Kai replied firmly.

_**"What?"** _

_**"It's not going to happen."** _

_**"Why?"** _

_**"Not 'til I get a ring on this finger."**_ He retorted and Jay snickered, watching Kai trying to hide a smirk. Out of the corner of his eyes, Cliff noticed the silent conversation between his son and the dragonblood. He may have been worried at first, but now he knew his son had found the right person. That didn't mean he wasn't going to be keeping a close eye on the couple, though...

* * *

Early the next morning, Ninjago dawned bright and snowy. Jay was woken by the house shaking again. There was no roaring accompanied it, but he instantly knew who it was. Instead of groaning and trying to hide under the covers, he immediately got up, yawned, and jumped out of bed, ready to meet Kai outside. At the front door, Jay paused to look at the village. It had snowed overnight, and every surface was covered in a thick blanket of whiteness that was about a foot deep.

It made the whole village look fresh and new.

An impatient roar from behind the house brought Jay back to reality.

"I'm coming, Kai!" He called, smiling and hopping down the steps. "All right baby, come on down, I was just..." Jay started as he rounded the corner. Then he stopped and stared. Kai wasn't on the roof. He was sitting on the ground, staring at Jay expectantly. His old saddle and tail fin were spread out in the snow in front of him. Jay had a moment of confusion. "Kai, what'd you pull this out for? You don't need this anymore." He shoved the saddle out of the way with his boot.

He walked up to Kai's side and prepared to mount him, but Kai quickly got up and moved away from him, turning 180 degrees and sitting back down in front of the old riding equipment.

Jay shook his head in confusion. What was going on here?

"Would you quit fooling around? You have your new tail now," He said, trying to mount Kai again and failing as the dragonblood ducked away once more. "Kai!" He smiled uncertainly. Kai glanced down at the equipment, then slowly hunched down and held up his tail. The new fin slowly fanned out with a soft clicking noise. It was perfect. The measurements weren't off even by a little bit. The material would last for years to come. It wasn't only the gift of a new fin.

It was a gift of freedom.

Kai lifted the tail higher, looked Jay in the eye, and without any warning at all, began to whip his tail against the ground, smashing the fin as hard as he could. Jay's eyes widened in shock.

"Kai! Stop! What are you doing?!" He cried as a dull snap came from the fake fin, and Kai kept shaking his tail frantically until the fin detached itself and was flung ten feet away into a snowdrift. Jay stood there, staring in disbelief. In less than ten seconds, a full night's worth of work had become undone, and Kai had thrown away the one thing that enabled him to fly freely. Why was he doing this? Kai gently took the old saddle in his mouth and tugged it across the snow in front of him.

He let go of it, looked up at Jay with wide eyes, and patted it with his front paw.

So many things were said with one simple action. Jay just stared at him, barely daring to believe what Kai was saying, and slowly he started to smile. Within a few minutes, the old saddle and tailfin were equipped and they were flying through the cold morning winds. Winter in Ninjago lasts most of the year. It hangs on with both hands and won't let go, and the only real comforts against the cold are those you keep close to your heart. Jay and Kai leveled out in the air, and Jay slowly unbuckled himself from the harness.

"Okay, baby, you ready?" He asked.

 _ **"Always Jaybird,"**_ Kai confirmed his answer with a low growl. Jay unhooked his prosthetic leg from the stirrup, braced himself, and leaped off Kai's back into the open sky. They both began to free-fall through the icy air, head first, side by side. Jay couldn't stop grinning. He glanced back at Kai. The dragonblood gave him a wide, upside-down, toothy smile. He reached out a paw and playfully gave Jay a small push, causing the boy to spin around in the air.

As the island rapidly zoomed up to meet them, Kai quickly spun around and Jay grabbed onto the saddle, strapping himself back in.

He tilted his foot back to make the fake fin snap out to the side. Kai spread his wings out, and he pulled up and zoomed over the forest, just brushing the tips of the trees and spraying snow in all directions. Turns out that was the best Day of Love ever. That year, Jay gave his boyfriend a pretty great gift. But the dragonblood gave him a better one...


End file.
